ECM’s youth programs have been running since the beginning of the ministry, and have taken many forms over the years. Despite all the changes, the core of these programs has always been the same: support youth in our community as they become the next generation’s leaders by helping them grow and thrive socially, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically.

Isaiah’s words paint a beautiful picture of hope. Sometimes amidst the struggles in our lives, we forget the wolf and the lamb and the Spirit of the Lord. Often walking through our neighborhood and around our country, we see more stumps than new growth.
But we must remember to seek the shoots that peek through the stumps and rejoice with the cactus when she blossoms. We must take the hand of our neighbor and dare to take a step toward hope. We invite you to join us in lament and hope this Advent season.

Ten days (Aug 20-30) prior to the annual CCDA conference, three of us from East Central Ministries will join hundreds of others to walk approximately 150 miles, from the U.S. Mexico border into the heart of downtown Los Angeles. This walk is being called El Camino del Inmigrante (or "The Way of the Immigrant").The goal of the Camino is to make a public stand in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors, bring awareness to the struggles they face, and advocate for comprehensive immigration reform.

We feel the call even louder than before, the call to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, to walk alongside the brokenhearted and outcast, and to challenge, to stir up, and call to action those who may not recognize that the call of the Gospel is radical. We look forward to strengthening our connections and community through further engagements. We see ECM’s reach extending out into the city of Albuquerque with a prophetic voice of justice for the marginalized, an act of worship to our God of grace and truth.

We guard our world with locks and guns,
And we guard our fine possessions,
And once a year when Christmas comes,
We give to our relations,
And perhaps we give a little to the poor,
If the generosity should seize us,
But if any one of us should interfere,
In the business of why they are poor,
They’ll get the same as the rebel Jesus.”
- Jackson Browne, The Chieftain’s Bells of Dublin

Fall is harvest season (at least, here in the Northern Hemisphere) and for many cultures, it is a time to celebrate abun-dance and reaping the fruits of our labor. This fall, let’s pray for those here at home and around the globe who strug-gle with food security, who have no access to healthy food that will nourish their families, and who lack strong commu-nity support networks they can rely on when times get tough.